1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates an Internet refrigerator and a method of operating the Internet refrigerator, and more particularly to an Internet refrigerator that can perform data communications with external communication devices and an operating method thereof.
2. Background of the Related Art
Generally, a refrigerator comprises a main body, a freezing room for storing therein frozen foodstuffs, a refrigerating room for cold-storing therein foodstuffs, a compressor for cooling the freezing room and the refrigerating room, and a control circuit including a microcomputer. The refrigerator is a home appliance basically used in a kitchen, and its size gradually becomes larger.
The kitchen space where the refrigerator is installed is not only the simple space for a dietary life in accordance with the change of the living habit of the moderns. In the kitchen, members of a family not only take a meal but also have a talk together. That is, the kitchen is changing to a main living space in the home. Accordingly, the refrigerator, which is a core element in the kitchen space, and becomes large-sized, is required to provide diverse entertainments, a remote control function, and other service functions.
Most conventional refrigerators only have their own refrigeration functions, but do not provide the entertainments, remote control function, and other service functions. For instance, in order to effectively use the refrigerator, the user should refer to a manual, but it is difficult for a general user to accurately understand the contents of the manual. As a result, the conventional refrigerator has the drawbacks in that the user should individually make inquiries at a service center in order to accurately user his/her refrigerator.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an Internet refrigerator and a method of operating the Internet refrigerator that substantially obviate one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide an Internet refrigerator which enables a remote control of the refrigerator and an operating method thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an Internet refrigerator having an entertainment function and an operating method thereof.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an Internet refrigerator which can provide additional other services to a user in addition to its own refrigeration function and an operating method thereof.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims thereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the Internet refrigerator comprises a refrigerator control section for controlling whole constituent elements of the refrigerator, a touch panel for providing key signals related to an operation of the refrigerator itself and key signals for effecting communications with the Internet according to a user""s selection, a remote controller for remotely providing the key signals related to the operation of the refrigerator itself and the key signals for effecting communications with the Internet according to the user""s selection, a display section, provided on an outer wall of the refrigerator, for displaying information related to the operation of the refrigerator itself and information obtained from the Internet in response to the key signals from the touch panel and the key signals from external devices through the Internet, a main control section for performing a bidirectional communication with the refrigerator control section and the Internet and controlling the display section in response to the key signals from the touch panel, the key signals from the Internet, and the key signals from the remote controller, a dedicated communication control section for managing the bidirectional communication between the refrigerator control section and the main control section, and an Internet connection device connected between the Internet and the main control section by a dedicated communication line for the bidirectional communication between the Internet and the main control section.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating an Internet refrigerator comprising the steps of detecting a key signal inputted from a key input device and inputted from external devices through an Internet connection device by a user, controlling constituent elements of the refrigerator in response to the key signal if it is detected that the key signal is related to an operation of the refrigerator itself, displaying through a display device first information from the refrigerator itself and from the external devices in response to the key signal if it is detected that the key signal is a signal for displaying the first information, transmitting second information of the refrigerator to the external devices in response to the key signal if it is detected that the key signal is a signal for transmitting the second information to the external devices through the Internet connection device, and storing third information from the refrigerator itself and from the external devices through the Internet connection device in a memory of the refrigerator in response to the key signal if it is detected that the key signal is a signal for storing the third information in the memory.
As described above, since the refrigerator according to the present invention has the Internet function, the user can confirm information on the operation state of the refrigerator itself and foodstuffs stored in the refrigerator only by the simple input of the key signal from a remote place using the external communication devices. Also, the user can view images from an external database through the display device provided on the Internet refrigerator.
According to the Internet refrigerator according to the present invention, the user can also control the operation of the refrigerator using the external communication device. Also, the user can perform the schedule management, and can be provided with various kinds of services.